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Fresh and some mechanical properties of sifcon containing silica fume

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DOI: 10.1051/matecconf/201816202003

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Shakir Salih Qais JAWAD Frayyeh

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MATEC Web of Conferences 162, 02003 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201816202003
BCEE3-2017

Fresh and some mechanical properties of sifcon containing

silica fume
Shakir Salih1, Qais Frayyeh1,*, and Manolia Ali2
1 Building and Construction Engineering. Department, University of Technology, Baghdad, Iraq
2 Material Engineering Department, Collage of Engineering, Al-Mustansiriya University, Baghdad, Iraq

Abstract. Slurry infiltrated fiber concrete (SIFCON) is one of the recently developed construction
material. SIFCON could be considered as a special type of fiber concrete with high fiber content.
The matrix of SIFCON consists of flowing cement mortar or cement slurry. SIFCON has a very
good potential for application in area where resistance to impact and high ductility are needed
especially in designing the seismic retrofit, in the structures under impact and explosive effects and
repair of structural reinforced concrete element. The main objective of this paper is to determine the
effect of steel fiber content and silica fume (SF) cement replacement on the mechanical properties of
SIFCON concrete. The percentage of SF replacement was 10% by weight of cement in SIFCON
slurry, and three different volume fractions of hooked ended steel fiber (6, 8.5, and 11) % were
used. The tested properties of SIFCON were compressive strength and splitting tensile strength
which were carried out on standard size of cubes and cylinders respectively at the age of 7and 28
days. It was observed that the mechanical properties of SIFCON were affected in a positive manner
by using silica fume as a partial replacement of cement and by adding steel fiber reinforcement in
different percentages. The compressive and splitting tensile strength up to 83.7 MPa and 17.3MPa,
respectively were obtained at the age of 28 days.

1 Introduction is believed to be responsible for its outstanding stress-

Slurry Infiltrated Fibrous Concrete (SIFCON) is
relatively a new high performance and advanced
material [1] that differs from ordinary Fiber Reinforced
Concrete (FRC) in terms of fabrication and composition
[2].Fiber content in FRC generally varies from (1 to 3)
% by volume, while the fiber content of SIFCON can be
anywhere from (4 to 20)% even though the current
practice ranges from (4 to 12%, and when using hooked
ended steel fiber with length more than 30 mm the fiber
content range between (4 to10)%. SIFCON matrix has
no coarse aggregates but a high cementitious content. It
may contain fine or coarse sand and mineral admixture
such as silica fume, fly ash and latex emulsions [3]. So,
the matrix of SIFCON is either cement paste or flowing
cement mortar as opposed to regular concrete used in
FRC. Also, the production of SIFCON far different from
FRC which is produced by adding the fiber to the wet or
dry concrete mix. While SIFCON is produced by first
sprinkling fibers into a mold until it is completely filled,
then the fiber network of SIFCON is infiltrated by
cement slurry [2, 4, 5].
SIFCON is a unique construction material exhibiting
new behavioral phenomenon, that of Fiber lock, the
fibers are subjected to mechanical and frictional
interlock, in addition to the bond with the matrix, which
*e-mail: jwd_ks@yahoo.com
strain properties. SIFCON also possesses high strength
as well as large ductility and far excellent potential for
structural applications when accidental loads are
encountered during services [1].
Many researchers study the mechanical behavior of
SIFCON produced with fly ash or ground granulated
blast furnace slag replacement. Also, there is little
information about SIFCON characteristic produced
using silica fume as additional ingredient to cement paste
or slurry
Sashidhar [6] examined the compressive strength
characteristics of SIFCON produced with low tensile
strength of steel fiber, ultimate tensile strength of 390
MPa, using mineral admixtures like metakaoline and
silica fume in the cement mortar. Fibers with 8 to 12%
volume fraction and with aspect ratio of 40 to 60 were
used. The study reported an 88% increase in
compressive strength for SIFCON when compared to
conventional concrete. It is further reported that the use
of metakaoline and silica fume in the matrix cause
increase of (11 to 14) % in the compressive strength of
SIFCON.
Kim and Choi[7] studied the mechanical properties of
SIFCON using hooked –end steel fiber with volume
friction varying from 4% to 10%. The addition of silica

© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
MATEC Web of Conferences 162, 02003 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201816202003
BCEE3-2017
fume was 10% by weight of cement, and superplastisizer
of 0.5% to improve the workability of cement slurry
.The water /cement ratio was kept constant as 0.4.The
test results show that the compressive strength of
SIFCON was increased to about (1.59 to 2.68) times
when compared with the cement paste, while the
increase in tensile strength was about (2.51 to 8.77)
times than that of the cement paste. They also observed
that the ductility and toughness of SIFCON were
increased with increasing the volume fraction of steel
fiber.
The flowable slurry with rich cement is the binder in
SIFCON products. Using high amount of cement not
only affects the production cost, but also has negative
effects on heat of hydration and may cause shrinkage
problems, therefore, the incorporation of mineral
admixtures as a partial replacement of cement seems to
be a suitable solution to overcome these problems,
furthermore, the use of mineral admixtures may have a
positive effect on mechanical properties and durability of
SIFCON products.
There is very limited information about the behavior of
SIFCON containing silica fume as a replacement of
cement .Therefore, the main aim of this research is to
evaluate the effect of silica fume as a partial replacement
(10% by weight of cement)and the effect of volume
fraction of steel fiber ranging from (6 to 11%) on fresh
and mechanical properties of SIFCON.
2 Experimental Work
2.1 Materials
2.1.1 Cement
Ordinary Portland cement (type I) which is
commercially known as (Krasta) was used in this
research, its physical and chemical properties conformed
to the Iraqi specification NO.5/1984[8].
2.1.2 Fine aggregate
River sand passing through 1.18 mm sieves, to ensure
complete infiltration through steel fiber, was used as a
fine aggregate. It conformed to the Iraqi specification
NO.45/1984[9], zone (2). Its specific gravity, sulphate
content and absorption are 2.6, 0.34%, and 2%,
respectively.
2.1.3 Water
Ordinary tap water was used in this work for all mixing
and curing of SIFCON specimens
2.1.4 Silica fume (SF)
Densified silica fume, which is commercially known as
MEYCO/MS610 from BASF Company with fineness of
(21000 m2/kg), was used in this work as a partial
replacement of cement. It conformed to the ASTM
C1240-05[10]
2
2.1.5 High range water reducer (HRWR)
For the production of SIFCON high range water
reducing admixture was needed to improve the
workability (flowability) of the slurry, which should be
liquefied enough to flow through the dense fiber bed
without leaving honeycombs. In this work (Glenium 54)
from BASF Company was used. It conformed to the
ASTM C494 type F [11].
2.1.6 Steel fiber
Hooked end steel fiber with diameter of 0.7mm and
length of 35 mm, giving aspect ratio of 50 and tensile
strength of 1100 MPa was used in this investigation
.Fibers were randomly orientated in the matrix.
2.2 Mix proportion
The first step in this work was preparing many trial
slurry mixes to find a suitable mix that has the desirable
fresh properties satisfying the requirements of SIFCON
slurry with respect to viscosity, fluidity and filling ability
without segregation or pore pockets in the fiber network.
While the second step was selected the minimum and
maximum volume fraction of steel fiber to be used after
the trial mixes of SIFCON. Two types of SIFCON
matrix (M1 and M2) were prepared with the same mix
proportion (1:1) (cement: fine aggregate) by weight
depending on literature review findings which show that
the proportion of sand to cement is equal to 1 in most
cases, and the addition of sand beyond cement to sand
ratio of (1:1) decreases the required compressive
strength. The cement content was 885 kg/m3 and (water
/binder) ratio was kept constant at 0.3 for the two mixes
(M1 and M2). The first SIFCON matrix (M1), control
mix, was obtained by using a superplastisizer which is
(Glenium 54). While the second type of SIFCON matrix
(M2) was prepared from the control mix by a partial
replacement by weight of cement with 10% of silica
fume (SF). The details of the two SIFCON mixes are
shown in Table (1)
Table 1. Mix proportion used for SIFCON slurries
SF SP**
Mix w/b* Cement Sand (10% Water % by
Symbol ratio kg/m3 kg/m3 rep.) L/m3 wt. of
kg/m3 cement
M1 0.3 885 885 0.0 265.5 1.2
M2 0.3 796.5 885 88.5 265.5 2.4
*w/b = water /(cement + silica fume)
**SP dosage was regulate to obtain similar flow diameter and
viscosity (without bleeding and segregation)
Each mix was prepared with three volume fractions
(6%, 8.5% and 11%) of steel fiber. The volume fraction
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MATEC Web of Conferences 162, 02003 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201816202003
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of 6% was a minimum practical limit that could fill the
mold without using vibration while 11% volume fraction
was the maximum practical limit that fills the mold with
intense vibration to obtain complete penetration of the
slurry into the fiber network. Volume fraction of 8.5%
was selected as an intermediate value which required
only light vibration
2.3 Test of fresh SIFCON
Testing of SIFCON in its fresh state is of serious
importance for the production of SIFCON. Its matrix
must be liquid enough and have sufficient fineness to
flow through the dense fiber bed. The mini slump flow
and V-funnel test, according to EFNARC [12], were
used to determine the flowability, filling ability and
viscosity of the slurry. The mini flow test represents the
flowability, segregation resistance and uniformity of the
slurry. Base diameter, top diameter, and height of mini
slump flow test apparatus used are 100, 70 and 60 mm,
respectively. A value between (240-260) mm spread
diameters is required for SIFCON mortar. The other test
to assess the viscosity of the slurry was V-funnel test, a
flow time between (7-11) seconds is considered
appropriate [12]. The details of these two tests could be
found in many references [12, 13, 14]. Results of the
fresh properties of SIFCON mixes are given in Table (2)
and shown in Fig. (1)
Table 2. Fresh properties of SIFCON mix
Mini slump SP. % by wt.
Mix Symbol V-funnel (s)
flow (mm) of cement
M1 258 8 1.2
M2 257 9.5 2.4
Fig.1. mini slump flow test for SIFCON slurry
3
2.4 Preparing, casting, and curing of the test
specimens
The first step in preparing test specimens is placing
steel fibers into the molds, and then they were infiltrated
with the cement slurry which must be flowable and
liquid enough to infiltrate thoroughly the dense matrix
in the fiber -filled form.
In this study, casting of the two- layer technique was
used for incorporating fiber in the mortar slurry ,which
proved effective during the casting of SIFCON
specimens and found to be easier in actual practice than
the single layer technique especially in case of high
content of steel fiber
This technique involved initial placing of the fibers in
the mold only up to the half depth, followed by
infiltration of the slurry up to this level. Then the
contents in the mold were vibrated. The process was
repeated until the entire mold was filled with the
required fiber content. No vibration was required with
volume faction(Vf)of 6%,while alight vibration for(6-
10)sec by table vibrator was applied in case of Vf of
8.5% and intense vibration for(15-20)second in case of
the maximum Vf (11%) to ensure that SIFCON slurry
will penetrate completely into the fiber pack , as shown
in Fig.(2).
Fig.2. preparing and casting of SIFCON specimens
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The weight of steel fiber to be used in each mold
depends on the dimensions of the mold, density and the
volume fraction of the steel fiber used. After a bout 24
hours from casting time, the specimens were demolded,
marked and immersed in tap water tank to be cured for 7
and 28 days.
2.5 Testing of hardened SIFCON specimens
2.5.1 Compressive strength
This test was conducted in accordance to B.S.1881:
Part 116:1989[15] by using 100 mm cube. The
compressive strength value of each mix represents the
average of three specimens. They were tested at 7 and 28
days of water curing.
2.5.2 Splitting tensile strength
This test was carried out according to ASTMC496
04[16] by using (100*200 mm) concrete cylinder. The
specimens were tested at 7 and 28 days of water curing.
The average of three specimens was used for each
variable in this test.
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1 Fresh properties of SIFCON
Table (2) shows the results of mini slump flow and V-
funnel test that satisfied the criteria of appropriate
flowability , adequate viscosity and filling ability for the
two slurry mixes (M1 and M2). It can be seen from the
results of the reference mixture (M1) that the addition of
HRWR is very necessary to obtain a mixture with low
w/c ratio and in the same time satisfying the
homogeneity and the other mentioned requirement.
The method followed to find the superplastisizer(SP)
amount needed for M1 is by checking first the slump
flow with different amount of SP until reaching the
aimed value of (240-260)mm ,then checking the two
other requirement by V-funnel test. This is because the
slump flow test is the simplest and the fastest one.
The great or positive effect of SP on fluidity and
cohesiveness of cement slurry was because the
polycarboxylate superplasticizer absorbs onto and
disperses the cement particles; thus improving
workability and reducing friction, and if the particles
tend to flocculate then the multi-ion polymer interferes.
These particles remain frictionless, so maintaining the
dispersing effect for longer time after mixing [13].
The resulted feature of using silica fume (SF), as
cement partial replacement, to reference mix (M1) is
shown in Table (2) as mix (M2). It was noticed that this
4
replacement caused a decrease of workability making the
mix cohesive and sticky and to obtain similar viscosity
and fluidity, the SP dosage of mixture has to be
increased. Insufficient fluidity or viscosity was observed
for lower SP dosage than the values given in Table (2).
On the other hand, greater dosage caused bleeding and
segregation behavior of mixtures. The lower workability
and stickiness of the mixtures by SF replacement is a
result of its very large surface area. The superplasticizer
when mixed in concrete are absorbed by cement and
silica fume particles, make them mutually repulsive as a
result of anionic nature of superplasticizer, which causes
the cement and silica fume particles to become
negatively charged [13,17]
It can be seen from the results that SF incorporation
reduces the spread diameter of mini slump and increases
the V-funnel time. In other words SF replacement causes
relatively high viscosity. This can be attributed to
increased cohesiveness with SF. Sonebi et al. [18]
mentioned that the increased dosage of SF reduced the
spread diameter of the mini slump and volume of
penetrated slurry into the fiber mass.
3.2 Hardened properties of SIFCON
3.2.1 Compressive strength
The compressive strength test results for SIFCON
cubes (100) mm cured at 7 and 28 days for two different
types of mortar (M1 and M2) with different volume
fraction of steel fibers (6%,8.5% and 11%) are presented
in Table(3) and plotted in Fig. (3), Fig. (4) , Fig. (5) and
Fig. (6).The results show that the compressive strength
increases with the increase of steel fiber volume fraction
for both the two groups (Group 1 and Group 2).
Table 3. Compressive strength of SIFCON mixes
Group Compressive strength (MPa)
Mix symbol
No. 7 days 28 days
M1F-6 63 70.7
1 M1F-8.5 66.3 74.8
M1F-11 70.6 76.5
M2F-6 69.5 78.5
2 M2F-8.5 71.4 81
M2F-11 74.7 83.7
Fig.3.The effect of steel fiber content on the compressive
strength for all SIFCON mixes at age of 7 days
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the incorporation of silica fume (as a partial replacement

Fig.4.The effect of steel fiber content on the compressive
strength for all SIFCON mixes at age of 28 days
by weight of cement) ,which causes an increase by about
(10.3%, 7.7%, 5.8%) for 7 days as well as (11%, 8.2%,
9.4%) at the age of 28 days for M2F-6, M2F-8.5 and
M2F-11mixes in Group2 compared with their counterpart
mixes in Group 1,as shown in Fig.(5) and Fig.(6).
The effect of SF on improving the compressive strength
of SIFCON mixes is due to the high surface area of SF
which fills in the spaces between cement grains. This
phenomenon is referred to as (particle packing). Also SF
accelerates the hydration of cement by providing
nucleation sites where the products of cement hydration
can more readily precipitate from solution result in more
densified microstructure and also improve the cohesive
force between fiber and matrix. SF is a very reactive
pozzolana material which reacts with calcium hydroxide
to form additional binder material called calcium silicate
hydrate which is similar to the calcium silicate hydrate
from Portland cement [13]

3.2.2 Splitting tensile strength

The tensile strength investigations of SIFCON mixes
with two different types of mortar (M1 and M2) and
different volume fractions of steel fiber (6,8.5 and 11%)
were carried out at the ages of 7, and 28 days. The
results are presented in Table (4) and plotted in Fig. (7),
Fig. (8) and Fig. (9).

Fig.5. The effect of steel fiber content on the compressive Table 4. Splitting tensile strength results for SIFCON mixes
strength for all SIFCON mixes at age of (7 and 28) days
Splitting tensile strength
Group (MPa)
Mix symbol
No.
7 days 28 days
M1F-6 9.15 11.2
1 M1F-8.5 11.3 12.8
M1F-11 13.2 14.6
M2F-6 11.1 12.9
2 M2F-8.5 14.4 16.2
M2F-11 16.1 17.3

Fig.6. Compressive strength development with time for

SIFCON mixes with different fiber content

For example, in Group (1),the increase in fiber content

from 6% to (8.5 % and 11%) leads to increase in
compressive strength of SIFCON mixes (M1F-8.5 and
M1F-11) to (5.2 and 12%) at age of 7 days , and (5.8 and
8.2%) at age of 28 days, respectively compared with Fig.7.The effect of steel fiber content on the splitting tensile
M1F-6.This increase in compressive strength is due to strength for all SIFCON mixes at age of 7 days
the higher gained bond between fibers/ matrix interfaces
by increasing fiber volume fraction up to 11%.These
findings are agreed with other researchers [19] and [20].
The results also show that all SIFCON mixes in Group 2
have a slight increase in the compressive strength due to
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Fig.8.The effect of steel fiber content on the splitting tensile
strength for all SIFCON mixes at age of 28 days
Fig.9.The effect of steel fiber content on the splitting
tensile strength for all SIFCON mixes at age of (7 and 28
days)
Fig.10. Splitting tensile strength development with time for
SIFCON mixes
The results show that splitting tensile strength increases
with the increase in volume friction of steel fiber for
both the Groups (Group 1 and Group 2).Also the effect
of steel fiber content on increasing the tensile strength
was more than its effect on compressive strength
As shown in Group (1),the increase in fiber content
from 6% to (8.5 % and 11%) increases the splitting
tensile strength of SIFCON mixes (M1F-8.5 and M1F-11)
to (23.5 and 44.3%) for the age of 7 days , and (14.3 and
30.4%) for the age of 28 days ,respectively compared
with M1F-6.And in Group (2) the increase in splitting
tensile strength of SIFCON mixes (M2F-8.5 and M2F-11)
to (29.7 and 45%) at age of 7 days, and (25.5 % and
34.1%) at age of 28 days, respectively compared with
M2F-6.The reason behind this behavior is due to
arresting the macrocracks as well as microcracks by
effect of steel fiber, also using hooked end SF leads to an
6
improved bond which in turn leads to an improved
mechanical properties.
The results show that Group 2 SIFCON mixes have an
improved tensile strength due to the incorporation of
silica fume (SF) that results in an increase by about
(21.3%, 27.4%, and 22%) for 7 days as well as (15.2%,
26.5 %, and 18.5%) at the age of 28 days for (M 2F-6,
M2F-8.5, and M2F-11) mixes in Group2 compared with
SIFCON mixes in Group1,as shown in Fig(10). It was
mentioned that the filler effect, pozzolanic effect and the
enormous surface area enhance the bond between fiber
and matrix interface in addition to the growth restricting
for microcracks, this explains the improved mechanical
properties in Group 2.
4 Conclusions
1-The test results show that, SF replacement with cement
caused increase in the viscosity of slurry (decreased the
spread diameter of mini slump and increased the V-
funnel time),which can be controlled by using proper
dosage of SP. Therefore, SIFCON slurry having proper
filling ability and flow ability properties can be produced
with SF replacement
2-The mechanical properties of SIFCON (compressive
strength and splitting tensile strength) were increased
with increase in volume fraction of steel fibers. The
increase in volume fraction of steel fibers from (6% to
11%) will increase the compressive and splitting tensile
strength of SIFCON mixes (M1F-11) to 12% and 44.3%,
respectively at the age of 7 days.
3- The use of silica fume (as a partial replacement by
weight of cement) in the matrix resulted in an increase
in the mechanical properties of SIFCON. The increases
in compressive and splitting tensile strength were about
9.4% and 18.5%, respectively at age of 28 days for
M2F-11 mix.
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